Local shoemakers struggling amid low demand
Ahead of festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, and Durga Puja, local shoemakers like Dhaneshwar Chandra Rabidas, 50, usually pass a busy time making handmade shoes, some even customised to the buyer's preferences.
The earnings generated during the festivals help them sustain their families for the rest of the year, when they only engage in sewing and repairing shoes due to low demand for new ones.
This year, however, around 700 shoemakers from the Rabidas community in five districts under Rangpur division -- Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Nilphamari -- are receiving fewer work orders.
Dhaneshwar, a resident of Kalmati village under Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, has been in this trade for over two decades and has a shop at Alorupa intersection in Lalmonirhat town.
"Around 200-250 pairs of shoes are sold from my shop ahead of the festivals every time. With a similar target, I have been making shoes ahead of this Eid. The demand, however, has been very low this year. I am yet to sell even 30 pairs till now," said Dhaneshwar.
"I had to take a loan from an NGO to buy raw materials for making shoes. If I cannot sell all of my stock, it will be difficult for me to repay the loan and stay afloatwith my family till the next festival. I am very concerned," he added.
Bangladesh Rabidas Forum, an association of footwear artisans, expressed concern that many shoemakers will be unable to even retain their capital amid the present situation.
"Each artisan makes around 150-400 pairs of new footwear ahead of each festival. Usually, low-income people from villages and towns buy these shoes. In the present situation, amid rising costs of living and spiraling prices of essentials, people no longer have the same disposable income. So, the demand for new shoes among our regular customers is low. As a result, many artisan shoemakers are concerned whether they would be able to retain their capital," said Biswanath Chandra Rabidas, president of BRF's Lalmonirhat district unit.
"The profession is also no longer the same. Earlier, handmade shoes by artisans were once in good demand. With the sector gradually taken over by industrial entities, these artisans have been surviving by making shoes ahead of festivals and repairing or sewing footwear for the rest of the year. Over the years, many shoemakers switched to other professions after failing to keep their businesses solvent," he added.
Nehar Uddin, 55, a grocery shop owners in Dadamor area under Phulbari upazila of Kurigram, said he prefers to buy shoes from local shoemakers, as those are reasonably priced and very durable.
"I buy five pairs of shoes for my family before Eid. This year, however, I didn't buy a single pair of shoes, as I don't have money. It's a difficult time for people like us," he said.
Samir Uddin, 48, a rickshaw-puller in Mahiganj area of Rangpur city, echoed him.
"I am struggling to make both ends meet. Buying shoes for my family may not be possible ahead of this Eid," he said.
"Each pair of shoes cost Tk 200-300 to make and are sold for Tk 300-500. Last Eid-ul-Fitr, I sold 240 pairs," said Suresh Chandra Rabidas, 55, of Madhupur village under Kaunia upazila of Rangpur.
"I made 250 pairs of shoes ahead of this Eid, but hardly 20 pairs have sold so far. I am afraid I will incur losses this year if the shoes don't get sold," he added.
Sunil Chandra Rabidas, 52, a shoemaker at College Road in Kurigram town, said, "There is not much work of sewing or mending shoes like before. These days, people just throw away their old pairs instead of getting those repaired. Before festivals, we generate capital from our savings or by taking loans, to buy raw materials. This year things are not looking good. There are no buyers and I have fallen into despair."
"This is how we are gradually compelled to drift away from our ancestral profession," he added.
Biswanath Chandra Rabidas urged the government to provide interest-free loan facilities to the people from Rabidas community to help them sustain their ancestral profession.